The Legend of the Black Monastery Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins. The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation. The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms. Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms. With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery. From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery. Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more… People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields. Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants. Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God. These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members. The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers. The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war. The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy. The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire. Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed. But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first. There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.

Up here in the mountains, the sun sets fast. The path has narrowed yet again as it diverts into this small slot valley. A gentle stream parallels the path; it’s pretty, but the smell of rotting vegetation dissuades from lingering long. In the lengthening shadows, birdsong seems oddly muted. As the forest clears a bit up ahead, a small manor upon a little pond comes into view. The birds have gone completely still. K1: Night at Fausen’s Manor is an investigative adventure designed for player characters around 3rd level. The players have been invited by the reclusive Lord Fausen to dine with him and discuss a job; Fausen is troubled by odd bumps and sounds in the night, something has been interfering with his mail, and recently his butler, Grimly, has disappeared. The players investigate during a night at the manor, where dark secrets lurk around every corner. Published by Coldlight Press

The PCs are called on to assist in retrieving the legendary Scrolls of Thoth on behalf of Khemet III, the Ruby Prince of Osirion. Along the way, they discover the ultimate fate of the ancient Song Pharoah -- and potentially assist her in her journey through the Duat, the final series of tests that a Pharaoh must face in the afterlife. It was designed as a one-shot lasting approximately 5-6 hours, but could be run as a side-quest in the Mummy's Mask adventure path. See the site for notes on adjustments to make if you are using it in that way. It includes maps, handouts, stat blocks for all of the NPCs, and Hero Lab files for Hero Lab users. Because the adventure is born digital, the page count is a rough estimate based on print previewing the pages in the site. There is no source of a printed copy other than printing one yourself (which you are welcome to do). This adventure has not been published, and is made available under the terms of the Paizo Community Use License.

For years, the knights of Mendev have held back the evil locked inside the Worldwound, a vast, demon-tainted landscape. Every few years, they anoint a new protector, a sacred guardian charged with pitting his will against the teeming hordes bent on devouring the very souls of the living. This year, something has gone horribly wrong, and now a bloodthirsty demonic army has overrun the ancient fortress, and threatens to pour into the surrounding countryside.

For ages untold, a gemstone monolith has pierced the heart of the Echo Wood. Now, as civilization intrudes upon this enigmatic splinter, a strange life once again stirs in the depths—one with ties to undying evils and a might beyond time itself. The promise of wealth and power calls to glory-seekers from across the Inner Sea region, tempting them into a labyrinth of monster-haunted vaults, defiled tombs, arcane laboratories, and worse, as they seek to unveil the secrets locked below the legendary Emerald Spire.

Book 4 in the Iron Gods campaign: A great threat is rising in Silver Mount, but a precious item belonging to a mysterious entity called Casandalee has yet to be found. With the Dominion of the Black still an ever-present danger, players must navigate a dangerous canyon, the Scar of the Spider, in hopes of learning more about their enemies, and to accomplish their mission.

In the frozen depths of winter, murderous winds mercilessly batter the crumbling Priory of Cymer. Within, trapped by their duty and the heaped snowdrifts that render travel near impossible, the few remaining faithful huddle together and tend the sacred places of their forbears. With the weather worsening, nerves fray and tempers snap as the wind howls its mournful dirge for the forgotten dead of a fallen time. But the worst is yet to come. One of those trapped within holds a murderous grudge that only blood can expunge and as the storm reaches its savage height terrible revenge is wrought amid the frigid halls and faded glories of a bygone age. A 1st level adventure that is so much more than a trip to stop goblins killing cows. Great NPCs and a great location gives this the feel of The Name Of The Rose.

Men always seek the blood of monsters. Some spill it to avenge their massacred families. Others swim through an ocean of gore to find treasures worth the envy of kings. A few know blood can be a priceless treasure in and of itself. Alchemy has long used the lifeblood of monstrosities as arcane fuel, and of all the legendary beasts, the blood of the gorgon holds the most secrets. Few know the blood's darkest lore, its ability to draw out the monster within every soul. Those who drink gorgon's blood are forever changed, and the darkest horrors of their mind unleashed. The heroes hunt a deadly murderer who stalks the streets of the Free City of Zobeck after nightfall, and cross blades with a guild of monsters who rule the city from below. Lucky heroes might risk no more than their lives. Unlucky heroes must wager their souls in a game where monsters and men dance close enough to share their blood and their fate.

With an enemy fleet intent on conquering the Shackles looming on the horizon, the adventurers must launch their own fleet of pirates and buccaneers to defend against the invaders, culminating in an epic naval battle at the edge of the Eye of Abendego. Will the adventurers defeat the invading navy and save the Shackles? Or will the independence of the Free Captains be eradicated forever? This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path includes: • “From Hell’s Heart,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 13th-level characters, by Jason Nelson. • Pirate plots and sinister situations to expand the horizon of your Skull & Shackles campaign, by Adam Daigle. • More menacing sea monsters and terrors from the deep plaguing the Shackles, by Adam Daigle. • A pirate showdown in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Robin D. Laws. • Seven new monsters, by Adam Daigle, Amanda Hamon, Mark Moreland, Eric Morton, and William Thrasher.

Necromancer Lintu practices undead-focused magic, avant-garde taxidermy, and is one of the most intelligent, successful, and evil people in Morsain. Outwardly helpful about undead, he's a psychotic serial killer happily "sourcing raw materials" himself.

The Mummy's Mask Adventure Path begins with "The Half-Dead City," an exciting new adventure in the pyramid-laden realm of Osirion, Land of Pharaohs! In the city of Wati, the church of Pharasma holds a lottery allowing explorers to delve the tombs of the city's vast necropolis in search of the nation's lost glories. In the course of investigating dusty tombs and fighting their ancient guardians and devious traps, the heroes encounter a group of rival adventurers intent on keeping one tomb's treasures for themselves. At the same time, the heroes learn that a dangerous artifact has been stolen from the tomb. Can the adventurers defeat their rivals, or will they fall to the undead defenders of the city's necropolis?

Rules for playing any level with any number of players without a GM! Have you and your friends ever sat around the gaming table wanting an exciting, perilous dungeon adventure but no one wanted to be the Gamemaster? Do you find yourself with little time to read through lengthy adventure modules and memorize them? Do you want to get down into the dungeon as quickly as possible and start killing monsters and finding treasure? Then look no farther than “Unbound Adventures”! In this rules supplement, players will find the information necessary for using the 3.5 d20 core rules without a Gamemaster. Players will form a party, find an adventure, travel to the dungeon (which will be generated for them as they explore) and fight the monsters they find there.

It’s finally happened! The Demoncall Ritual has begun, and creatures from the Abyss are streaming out through the Cellend family crypt. Heroes are needed, not only to slay the demons and stop the ritual, but to accept the risk of reversing the ritual to seal the Demoncall Pit forever.

The autumn wind whistles and blows through the branches of now barren trees. In the light of the harvest moon, orange and red leaves can be seen dancing through the streets; a tell-tale sign of winter’s approach and summer’s end. As the party leaves the local tavern to make their way to the inn of this small village, they have chosen to stop at for the night, they hear strange chants originating beyond some thick bushes to the south of the village. Jet black clouds begin to form and swirl above what appears to be firelight in the distance, and a woman’s scream echoes out, pleading for mercy…

Sometimes its better not to know... Citizens are turning up in the city in catatonic states, alive but devoid of personality. Are they the victims of an illness or disease, or is there something more sinister at work? Encountering one of these poor souls, the characters are drawn into an investigation of politics and treachery, seedy underworld dealings and rooftop chases, culminating in a fiery conclusion. Can they discover the cause of this epidemic before it’s too late?

Their deception revealed and their plans waylaid, two deadly and Hell-touched siblings make a desperate final play for control of Westcrown. With the city in chaos and its leaders fled, few stand to defend the beleaguered people when the plots of fiends turn upon them. At the same time, the rulers of Cheliax launch their own ruthless plot to retake control. Can the PCs return order and shatter the Council of Thieves’ age-old stranglehold on Westcrown once and for all? Or will the former capital slide fully into the grip of a terrible new deviltry? It's up to the PCs to decide in the climax of the Council of Thieves Adventure Path! This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path completes the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, and includes: - “The Twice-Damned Prince,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 11th-level characters, by Brian Cortijo and James Jacobs. - Catastrophic new rules for running a variety of calamities, from fires to floods, by Darrin Drader. - New revelations on Mammon, the avaricious archdevil of Erebus, by F. Wesley Schneider. - Pathfinder Varian Jeggare and Radovan face down devilish plots and the laws of Cheliax itself in a gut-wrenching conclusion to the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Dave Gross. - Five new monsters, by Adam Daigle, F. Wesley Schneider, Neil Spicer, and Hank Woon.

In Search of the Sunblade is an adventure that's designed to allow a group of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game characters to jump directly into the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. While this adventure is written using the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game ruleset, it makes mention of certain rules that are exclusive to the Starfinder Roleplaying Game. In the wake of a dark Necromancer’s assault, wherein all life was destroyed or corrupted in the lands under his control, the guardian Diviners have become desperate and seek the PCs help in a final ploy to defeat the Necromancer. When a bright ball of fire streaked a flame across the sky, directly into the Necromancer’s domain not three days past, the Diviners saw just one phrase: “Otherworldiness binds the iron that embraces the light of stars, resting where majestic Life-to-Death did go.” The Diviners sense an energy deep within the blasted forest, an energy that may be the legendary sun blade, a weapon capable of defeating the Necromancer. What the Diviners sense is the downed aeon starship Tähtihohde. Warred over by the ship’s inhabitants and assaulted by the Necromancer’s minions, the ship is controlled now by a clan of svartálfar who are attempting to repair the ship. Following the Diviner’s instructions, the PCs discover a curved metal trapdoor in the middle of the dark forest. Opening it reveals stairs, 30 feet wide, leading down into a metal-lined corridor dimly lit from glowing floor runners.

Alkenstar, City of Smog, is a bastion of civilization in the magic-warped region known as the Mana Wastes. Its ingenious citizens survive in the treacherous Spellscar Desert with the help of canny inventions like guns and clockwork automatons, but now their construct protectors have begun to run amok within the city. It falls to the PCs to venture beyond the city walls to find the source of their strange behavior.

The sleepy town of Karpad in shadow-haunted Nidal has long been overseen by the Boroi family, and until a few weeks ago, the citizens under Baron Stepan Boroi's rule have lived uneventful lives of relative peace. Recently, however, the outbreak of a virulent and fatal disease and a number of mysterious disappearances have left the people of Karpad paranoid and fearful. Even Baron Stepan has been acting strangely, and now the tenuous balance of racial tensions between Karpad's human and fetchling populations stands on the verge of collapsing into total anarchy.

The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path begins here, in the small coastal town of Sandpoint. Five years after a tragic fire and spate of brutal murders, the people of Sandpoint eagerly anticipate the Swallowtail Festival to commemorate the consecration of the town's new temple. At the height of the ceremony, disaster strikes! In the days that follow, a sinister shadow settles over Sandpoint. Rumors of goblin armies and wrathful monsters in forgotten ruins have set the populace on edge. As Sandpoint's newest heroes, the PCs must deal with treachery, goblins, and the rising threat of a forgotten empire whose cruel and despotic rulers might not be as dead as history records.